Seriously, this is one of the best pieces of advice regarding the founding of new businesses i read in along time. And very encouraging, too. Especially for non-tech guys like me!
An idea for non-technical co-founders: try a service-first business
41–48 of 48 posts
Re: An idea for non-technical co-founders: try a service-first business
#42Even the search engine, cited as an example of something that must be implemented to be useful, is something that was once done manually.
In the movie, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, Spencer Tracy's character calls his secretary and asks her to check out his prospective son-in-law. Today, we would just ask Siri to do it.
Re: An idea for non-technical co-founders: try a service-first business
#43This is a good approach for non technical people, no doubt. That is if it really suites their skillset. As a non-technical founder, you are likely good at building and maintaining relationships. You are probably good at selling things. You might be great at framing, so people buy into your vision or get excited about your ideas. These are amazing, difficult-to-acquire skills. Unfortunately, too many non-technical fou…
If they are non technical and don't have the hustle and flow skills then what exactly would they be bringing to a startup generally? Assuming of course it's not money cause money solves most problems.
I'm really not a big fan of the technical/nontechnical distinction. Here's a better idea: Be a useful co-founder. In your example, it would appear that our subject is not skilled, so the first thing they need to do is develop an edge that will allow them to be of use to a company.
http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/08/thoughts-from-a-former-busi...
I don't usually come across helpful posts on TC, but this one caught my eye. Basically, if you look like the stereotypical idea guy/gal, you need to put the startup dreams aside for a bit, work at an established company, gain some experience, and, here it comes, develop skills.
Now, I'd argue this guy (the TC guy) is spreading himself a bit too thin, but the idea of being the utility player on the team is pretty good. When combined with your work experience, you might be an attractive candidate. Go a step beyond that by following OP's advice and, you know, actually build something.
It doesn't need to be a home run, but it should speak for itself, and when you have something, anything really, that speaks for itself, you're in pretty good shape.
Re: An idea for non-technical co-founders: try a service-first business
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Potentially domain knowledge, contacts, access, name... Whether they are what is required will depend on the situation.
Contacts/access/name are useless if that's the primary skill someone brings. If you are an intelligent engineer, a few months in the Bay Area will get you contacts with investors. A great product will also get you contacts and access. Domain knowledge is useful, however (i.e. a lawyer at a startup doing online legal documents).
I wouldn't put too much weight on general contacts/access/name either but if they are relevant to the domain and will have access to the target market and publicity in the target market it is worth something. I'm thinking a real leader in the relevant field (not technology start ups but your target market) and even in that case value will depend on the situation.
Re: An idea for non-technical co-founders: try a service-first business
#45I'm a non technical co-founder and am building a combination of a serviced based business and technology business.
I think this article is spot on for most people. A lot of very successful businesses can be started with a wordpress blog and very little technical capability.
A business based around the technology itself is a highly risky venture. I would argue it's a lot lower risk to first develop a business without much technology, build up your customer base and then gradually build technology to automate more aspects of the business as you go.
PayCycle purchased by Intuit for $170million is an example of this. They started doing the payroll for businesses completely manually. Literally writing out checks etc. Then they gradually automated each step of the business.
For most businesses it's a better strategy to build the business first get customers and then build the technology second. Technology startups where you build the technology first are the exception not the rule.
Re: An idea for non-technical co-founders: try a service-first business
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't generally have the luxury of having people to build it, people to market it and people to sell it. The fact is, you as a founder need to build something from nothing. The OP does a great job of explaining what that means for a non-technical founder. your average non-technical founder is extremely likely to fail. If you want to give advice to the them, it should start: become exceptional.
Minor nitpick: the average founder is extremely likely to fail, technical or otherwise. Being a technical founder doesn't really dramatically increase the odds of success. As someone who suffers from "build it and they will come" syndrome, the article is actually decent advice for ANY founder, not just founders who aren't "technical".
you are absolutely right, I didn't mean it just as non-technical and I certainly have suffered from the same syndrome. To be fair and honest, everyone is likely to fail, I was just pointing out that the success stories in the startup world don't tend to come from the average, so building advice around the average is..
Re: An idea for non-technical co-founders: try a service-first business
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Potentially domain knowledge, contacts, access, name... Whether they are what is required will depend on the situation.
Contacts/access/name are useless if that's the primary skill someone brings. If you are an intelligent engineer, a few months in the Bay Area will get you contacts with investors. A great product will also get you contacts and access. Domain knowledge is useful, however (i.e. a lawyer at a startup doing online legal documents).
Contacts/access/name is about more than investors, in some industries that's what you need to reach customers or suppliers.
Re: An idea for non-technical co-founders: try a service-first business
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Contacts/access/name are useless if that's the primary skill someone brings. If you are an intelligent engineer, a few months in the Bay Area will get you contacts with investors. A great product will also get you contacts and access. Domain knowledge is useful, however (i.e. a lawyer at a startup doing online legal documents).
Contacts/access/name is about more than investors, in some industries that's what you need to reach customers or suppliers.
I put that under "domain expertise."